Saturday, September 27, 2008

Acting Up

My daughter took this picture of her brother a couple of weeks ago when he came to visit her and a friend of theirs at the college dorms. It's hard to believe that in another two years, he too will be on his own.

He is a young man born from two different worlds: the athletic world of his father where sports took front row in a theater of all boys, and the artistic world of his mother (that would be me!) where music, art and literature were the focus of sisters and brothers.

Since the sixth grade, my son has played basketball, acclimating slowly to the game with his ever-growing and changing body, and emerging at 6'2" with great talent, appreciation and love for the game. But sometimes when one's passion becomes a requirement, it's easy to lose the spark that originally ignited....and the fire burns out.

This year he has opted to change his course and will be trading his Nikes for a leather jacket in our school's production of "Grease". He will step away from an expected role to try something new instead, and once his departure from the game of basketball 'hits the press', I'm sure he'll be faced with many questions.

It takes courage to digress from an assumed position and go out on that proverbial limb, suspended over unnetted space as you try out new wings. I'm proud of his stance and his willingness to tap into an uncharted part of who he is and can be. May he find what truly inspires him in this life and a happy balance that makes it all work.

4 comments:

Hi Lori! I sit here and read all that you have written from things that span from times I was there to times I wasn't. However, all you have written means so much to me, because even though I have maybe not experenced what you have I have in some form. They are happy, sad, comforting, and all of them so true! Even though sometimes sitting and looking at pictures makes me sad, knowing I did these things and loved them makes me feel so good, even through my sorrow! Thank you Lori for everything!

Aw, Nicole...I didn't even know you knew about my blog. You have been such a big part of our lives these past 7 years. I can't imagine what life would've been like without sharing those times with you. You are a great friend to Meg, and like another daughter to me. Things will get better, but know that true friends are everlasting, no matter how much time passes or the amount of distance between you.